TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Arrow Season 7 Episode 4: Level Two

Tonight’s episode of Arrow had a lot of returns, and in the good way. We saw the return of the new Green Arrow, we saw the return of the flashbacks, and we saw the return of the original flashbacks in a roundabout way. All of this, tied into a decent plot for the present timeline in Star City led to one of the best episode of Arrow this season.

“Level 2” had a lot going for it. Not the least of which was Oliver’s “arrival” on the literal Level 2 of Slabside as he searched for “The Demon”. I like that Arrow isn’t rushing into the storyline there, instead focusing on expanding the lore of Slabside in its own way. Which brought forth Dr. Parker, a psychiatrist who was trying to “help” Oliver on his quest for “redemption”.

For me, this was one of the best performances I’ve seen out of Amell, and Amell has had a LOT of great performances in the last few seasons. Here, seeing him re-enact the raft seasons with his father, and then defy the “wisdom” of the doctor was very compelling. I really like how Arrow used the doctor to pull a spin on what Robert Queen did. And from a certain point of view, he wasn’t wrong in his analysis. But for Oliver, he knew there was more to it than that. All of this led to the great ending where he enacted his own version of the the raft scene, and then lost his name in the process.

Meanwhile, the big reveal of the Silencer’s capture was built on. With Felicity claiming to go to any length to get the information out of her to get to Diaz. I know that Felicity gets a lot of crap from people and fans because of the “forced” character arcs she’s had. But here? I honestly think it was well done. This is a woman on the end of her rope. Oliver is gone, William is away, and her friends (for the most part) refuse to help her. So, what does she do? She goes to Laurel E2!

This was a good use of a character that was still struggling to find her way in her new paradigm, and using her to get to Diaz? Perfect, and these two honestly do play well together in their new forms. I hope we get so expand upon this.

Meanwhile, Rene and Dinah had their own little issue, as someone was attacking the Glades, and the mission became about saving, and either protecting or capturing the new Green Arrow. I really do like that Dinah is trying to restore the honor of the SCPD, while Rene is trying to do what’s right by him, Zoe, the Glades, and more. Having Dinah arrest Rene was poignant, because she does indeed have to do her job. But, using Diggle to remind her that Lance also bent the rules to get justice was also well done. And having her save the new Green Arrow at the end was a nice step forward.

Finally…the flashbacks. Wow, what progress was made in an episode. So here’s what we know. Star City is basically a wasteland. The Glades rose up and created a wall (uh-huh…) to keep Star City out. The police can’t be trusted. Dinah is now a Green Arrow/Canary fusion. Zoe is a vigilante. Rene is gone. They all seem to hate Roy for some reason. And…Felicity is dead. Which begs the question…who’s sending Roy and Will on this wild goose/Rubik’s cube chase? I don’t know, but I’m intrigued!

Now, not everything worked. I wish the plot with Rene/Dinah didn’t involve a simple arson/money scheme. And as much as I liked the “mindgames” aspect of the prison storyline, there’s no way that’s legal, not even in a world of superheroes.

Still, “Level 2” was a great episode, and if they’re able to keep the storylines fresh and fun like that, this season is going to stay good.

Todd Black is reader of comics, a watch of TV (a LOT of TV), and a writer of many different mediums. He's written teleplays, fan-fictions, and currently writes a comic book called Guardians (guardians-comic.com). He dreams of working at Nintendo, writing a SHAZAM! TV series, and working on Guardians for a very long time!

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